Hello ComicBookMovie.com! As you can tell by my avatar and name I am a pretty big Star Trek fan. Now I don't know everything about Star Trek, but I consider myself an enthusiast and I am always trying to learn more about it. I have decided however to rank all of the six Original Series films from worst to best. The Original Series films are all the films that are centered around the original cast so they include; Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). Before I begin I just want to say that on some level I do enjoy all of these films just because I am so attached to these characters.
6. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
The basic plot of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) revolves around the Enterprise beign hijacked by Spock's half brother who is on a religous quest to find God at the center of universe. What bothers me the most about this film is that the orignal concept with a couple small changes could have been a really intresting story. I love William Shatner and he is the only one who can play Kirk in my opinion, but he isn't a good director. This was the first film he ever directed and it really shows. The movie is also filled with numerous embarrassing, face palm worthy moments that just make you cringe. The pacing of this film is extremely uneven and choppy. Although the movie has a couple great character moments, but besides that there aren't many positve things to say about this film. However if you are a Star Trek fan and are attached to the characters like I am you can still gleam some enjoyment from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).
5. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
This film came off the back of the legendary Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) so it had big shoes to fill to say the least. The films main story is based around Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise stealing the decommissioned star ship on the chance that they can revivie Spock. I really don't like that after Spock's heartbreaking death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) they immediately bring him back to life! As a viewer you have no time to grief or to feel what the sacrifice of Spock really means to the members of the crew if you just bring him back in the next film. His death looses meaning by bringing the character back so soon and so quickly. Even with that complaint this is still a really fun and enjoyable movie. The villians are all memorable and it is awesome to see Christopher Lloyd ,also known as Doc Brown from the Back to the Future trilogy, play the Klingon commander. Also Leonard Nimoy does a great job at directing this film, unlike William Shatner. I really do think this is a good Star Trek film and I do not understand why it isn't looked upon more favorably. If you haven't seen it check it out!
4. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
The basic plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) revolves around the Enterprise traveling to intercept a giant destructive mass of energy that is traveling towards Earth. I really don't understand any of the hate that this film gets or why it is so disliked by fans in general. Many people complain that this film is boring, to long and doesn't have enough action. If that is all those people see then they are truly missing out. The main theme of the movie is about the realationship between logic and emotion and which is more pracitical. The film was directed by Robert Wise who has also directed other films like The Sound of Music (1965), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and West Side Story (1961) so he is a pretty accomplished director and he does a great job here. Composer Jerry Goldsmith does a fantastic job with the film's score, it is actually one of my favorite pieces of music. Give this beautiful film another chance, it is criminally underappreciated
3. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Ah the weirdness and goofiness of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) is unparelled. I find it really hard to describe what this movie is about, but basically in order to stop an alien invasion the Enterprise's crew must travel back in time to bring back two Humpback whales since the invading aliens can only communicate with Humpback whales... I warned you didn't I? If you break it down this movie is Star Trek meets Free Willy (1993). The first time I saw this movie I didn't enjoy it at all. I couldn't believe how cheesy and weird the movie was, but I decided to give it another chance and I am glad that I did. On a second viewing when I knew what to expect I found this to be a really funny and entertaining movie. This movie is full of hilarous moments and great character interactions. One of my favorite scenes in all of Star Trek is when Scotty tries to talk to a computer, its as amazing as it sounds. I do love this movie and it is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I understand if you don't like it because it really isn't a good movie, but I love every moment of it still.
2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Ah Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) one of the best Star Trek films out there. The plot is a continuation of Space Seed an episode from the Original Series and if you are going to watch this you should have most definetly watch Space Seed beforehand. All of the original crew are back with a couple fresh faces and they all give great performances. I couldn't talk about this movie without mentioning Ricardo Montalban's performance as Khan Noonien Singh who is one of the most iconic and menacing villains ever. The first time I saw this film I was just in awe and the sacrifice Spock makes is just heartbreaking. If you haven't seen it I beg you to watch it at least one.
1. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
The basic story of this film revolves around Kirk and Bones being forced out of retirement for an emergency mission which could result in an end to the tensions with the Klingons. I know a lot of you are probably wondering why I didn't put Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) as my number one choice, but I just enjoy Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) more. I honestly don't know what it is about this film, but I love every scene in it. Everything from the prison scenes to the weird wig and makeup Red Forman wears as the President. I don't want to spoil to much about this one because on the off chance there is someone who hasn't seen it I don't want to ruin it for them. I urge you to go and see this film, if you are a Trekkie you won't be sad you did.
Thank you for reading my editorial I hope you enjoyed it, please feel free to let me know what your favorite Original Series Star Trek films are!